What would you wish for the world without you in it?

The Origins of The Juliet at JMWW and Conversations and Connections

The endlessly generous and talented Jen Michalski invited me to write a post for JMWW’s recently relaunched “Origins” series in which authors talk about the seeds of ideas and inspirations that grew into their books. You can read my Origins post here. In the post I ramble on about Mom’s influence on the book, as well as the original research I did, and how I manipulated it.

In other news I finished (I hope!) a long-ish short story called “Artie & The Angels,” which is about what happens when a young woman who inherits a house on the Bayou Teche suspects that there’s a man inside a refrigerator that’s been dumped in the waters behind her new home.

This weekend brings Conversations and Connections, a one day conference with practical advice on writing that is just about sold out. See? only 1 ticket left!

I’ll be serving on a panel with my dear friends and fellow novelists, Steve Himmer and Art Taylor. The panel is called, “The Art of Creating Imagined Spaces Inside Real Places,” and here’s the description:

Three novelists—Steve Himmer, Laura Ellen Scott, and Art Taylor—talk about the techniques and risks of inventing non-existent locales and integrating them into real settings. What does authenticity mean when you manipulate known places in fiction, and how does “world-building” happen? And in this context where do invention and cultural appropriation intersect?

This year C&C is starting at it’s new home, George Mason University. The event on Saturday will be out at the Arlington Campus–where the law school is housed. Yes, THAT law school. We’ll do our best to dispel any bad mojo while we’re out there. Should be fun!